Facing Fears
by jenthepenpen
Summary: A story about people admitting to their feelings and basically trying to make it work. Sethsummer, RyanMarissa. Bad summary i know but just give it a try, you might justlike it!
1. The Begining

"Welcome to the OC bich" shouted Luke after just beating the crap out of Seth and Ryan. Ryan's really gonna wanna stay now thought Seth as he tried to stand up but thought better of it when stars appeared.

"Hey you alright man" asked Ryan as he got Seth underneath his arms and yanked him up.

"Yeh no problem I was mid blink when that guy hit me, we could so take em if we wanted" he started to sway on the spot"or maybe not". Ryan laughed as he threw Seth's arm around his shoulder and started walking down the beach.

"So what are your parents gonna say bout this" Ryan asked as he pointed at Seth's already forming bruise.

"They'll be fine, my parents actually encourage me to fight as they actually think its extremely educational in my development into (puts on a gruff voice) a reeall man" Ryan rolled his eyes"really" he asked with disbelief.

Seth grimaced as he thought of they reaction" well no but hey I can dream cant I" at this point he tried to walk without Ryan's help, failed and so threw himself on the sand and lay down looking up at the stars.

Ryan sat down next to him"so what's this Luke guy all about, how come Marissa's with him? his such a jackass, I mean don't get me wrong or anything I'm not like interested in her, god how stupid would that be" he continued to ramble"I mean yeh she's pretty and she's got amazing eyes and...but she seems quite up her self really, what do you think" there was silence"Seth" Ryan looked down at Seth and was greeted with Seth fast asleep with a piece of drool coming out his mouth. Ryan groaned and flopped down on the sand, "great, just great"

The Cohen Kitchen the next day…

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU TWO" Kirsten shouted as she walked into the kitchen. She walked over to Seth and looked at his bruises. He winced as she felt them.

"Who gave you theses, who have you been fighting with, I thought you would know better" she stood in front of him with her hand on her hip"tell me what the hell you two have been doing"

Seth squirmed in his seat"well that's a funny story, you see, well it started with an evil kangaroo who... oh wait is that the time, look Ryan its time for school, god I cant believe we were gonna be late" he grabbed Ryan's arm and yanked him towards the door.

"YOU COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW SETH" Kirsten shouted.

"sorry mom gotta go I'll explain later, if you see any kangaroos run for it, it wont be pretty" he shouted back as him and Ryan sped out the door.

"She is so gonna kill us later" Seth commented as they walked down the drive.

Ryan nodded his head"yep, pretty much"

The Next Day At School…

Ryan and Seth turned the corner and strolled down the corridor," so, are you gonna actually talk to Summer one day" Ryan asked as they stopped at his locker. " because ever since I've been here all you've ever done is talk about that girl, I mean I think I know her favourite colour, animal, what she wants to be when she's older and her most horrific experience, I mean its ridiculous Seth" He slammed his locker and carried on talking as he and Seth walked into first period.

"well its just hard, I mean when I speak to her I end up making the worst jokes, seriously man, did you hear the one about the hosepipe, the horse and Michael Jackson" Seth asked as they sat down.

Ryan frowned"umm, no and to be honest I don't think I want to".

"Exactly" Seth exclaimed. Just as he said this Summer strolled into the room with her perfect smile, perfect clothes, perfect hair, god she was so beautiful. Seth sat staring at her thinking, I wish I could speak to her, I wish she liked me.

Ryan waved his hand in front of Seth's face but he had no chance, he was gone to the world. He wished he would just act more confident, I mean obviously Summer wasn't going to like someone with no confidence. Seth just needed a shove in the right direction. He jumped up from his chair and leapt into the chair Summer was about to take.

"What are you doing Chino? If you didn't notice I was gonna sit there" the teacher who was sat at her desk looked over"summer I'm not in the mood this morning theirs a seat next to Seth, now take it"

Summer was about to argue but changed her mind when the teacher gave her a warning look. She trounced over and sat down; Seth sat stealing glances at her.

"What the hell are you looking at" Summer said after catching one of Seth's looks. Before he could answer the teacher got up from her chair"Right then folks, I'm sure you're glad to be back" this was answered with numerous groans. "and because I'm such a lovely teacher I've decided the best way to get back into the swing of things is to prepare a presentation on a subject of your choice, obviously related to history" she added as two guys started snickering. "and seeing as we always have problems with groups I want everyone to work with the person their sitting next to" there were cries of arguments from all sides of the room.

"No argument, that's my decision, make sure their ready for Friday" and with that she walked out the room.  
Summer looked at Seth"great" she said not hiding her annoyance.  
Seth looked back at Summer"great"; he said not hiding his excitement.

That Evening in Seth's Bedroom…

"You have a toy horse" Summer stated with not much enthusiasm. She put it back on the desk top. She carried on walking round the room looking at everything.

"Well no...Umm that horse isn't mine...its ummmm...well...its RYANS" he finally spluttered. His cheeks went red as he realised how obvious it was he was lying. He looked over at Summer, was that a smile creeping on her mouth or was he just imagining it? she had been so cold since she had got here.

"You really are a geek aren't you" nope she was still cold he thought.

"...umm well not a geek more a bit strange… well not strange just ummm different, yeh different that's what I meant" she back tracked after seeing the hurt look on Seth's face, she didn't mean to be so harsh, she just didn't want Seth getting any ideas while they spent time together. She was gonna get the work done as quickly as possible so that she didn't have to spend anymore time with him.

"You're really a charming person aren't you? I mean you don't even know me" Seth threw back at her, not hiding the hurt in his voice.

"Look lets just get on with this project then you can get away from me because it's obviously horrible for you to be around me" Seth said as he got out all the research he had done earlier. He watched as she opened her mouth to speak, thought better of it and just nodded in response.

Later At The Cohens Front Door

DING DONG

Ryan walked towards the door"I'll get it" he shouted to anyone that was listening. He grabbed the door handle and yanked open the door where he was greeted with a tall slim girl.

"Marissa, hi...umm...how are you" He managed to get out after recovering from the shock of seeing her there. She pulled some paper out of her bag. She looked uncomfortable.

"Well I just went over to Summers and her mum said she was here with Seth" there was amusement in her voice"...and I really need to give her this before tomorrow, so is there any chance you could hand it over to her" she held it out to Ryan.

"Yeh sure...i mean you could come in and, we could...you know, hang out for a bit and you could give it to her yourself if you want? Ryan managed to get out. He stood waiting for her to refuse. What he would do to spend time with her, he now realised that he had feelings for her, but he had also realised that there was no chance she would ever like him back so he was just gonna take what he could get.

"You know what...yeh sure why not, I haven't got anything else planned, hey have you got that Tony's Hawks game, don't tell anyone but I'm a huge fan" she laughed.

He looked at her surprised"yeh we got that, come on in" he pulled open the door and stood back as she walked past. Her hair caught his face as she passed him, god that smelled good he thought, I wish I could stroke her hair and kiss her soft...God what am I thinking, if I'm gonna deal with nothing happening I cant think things like that. He was brought out of his thoughts by Marissa"I'm just gonna pop upstairs and give this to Sum, ok" She turned towards the stairs and started walking up.

Marissa walked along the corridor towards what she guessed was Seth's room. What was with that look Ryan just gave me downstairs she thought. It almost seemed like the kind of look Luke gave her every time she was in his arms. Ryan couldn't have feelings for her, could he? No...God what was she thinking...he couldn't have feelings for her...how ridiculous was that! She was knocked out of her thoughts by loud laughter coming from Seth's room. The door was open so she walked in and the sight that greeted her was strange to say the least; the laughter was Summer's who looked to be having the time of her life...with Seth. What was going on Summer hated Seth! She coughed slightly. Summer looked up shocked.

"umm...hey Coup what you doing here?" She jumped up from the bed where she and Seth had been sitting. She looked extremely uncomfortable. Marissa tried not to laugh as she spoke.

"Well I needed to give you this list of stuff we need from you for the dance next week, you know the stuff you said your dad could get us" Summer walked over took the list out of her hand.

"Oh...right...yeh sure...well me and Cohen are done" she looked extremely flustered. "right then...ummm...I'm gonna go" she looked over at Seth who was still sitting on the bed looking on top of the world, and then she hurried out the room.

"BYE Summer" Seth shouted after her, he flopped back on the bed with a goofy grin on his face.  
Marissa looked at Seth, and looked at the look on his face, he looked so happy, it was obvious he was smitten with Summer, shame she didn't feel the same. Or did she, Summer obviously had a good time with Seth and the way she acted a minute ago was definitely very odd, maybe Summer did like Seth? She was definitely gonna find out... right after she kicked Ryan's asse at Tony Hawk. She hurried down the stairs and found Ryan hooking up the Xbox he looked up at her and smiled. She felt butterflies in the pit of her stomach, god what was with that, surely she didn't have feelings for Ryan, did she?...no she couldn't, it wasn't possible, it couldn't be possible, she pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind, they were too dangerous.

"So you ready to get your asse whipped" she said to Ryan as she took her controller. He grabbed his own"You wish cooper" he threw right back at her. They both laughed, happy to be in each others company.


	2. Kidding yourself

Chapter 2

"Why don't you just ask her, I mean what's the worst that can happen" Ryan asked Seth as they sat in the cafeteria munching dodgy looking burgers. Seth rolled his eyes"how about she says no, completely rejects me and I shrivel up under her angry glare" Seth chucked down his burger in frustration.

"well first of all, stop going over the top, your such a woman sometimes and second what makes you think she'll say no, I mean you said it yourself you had a great time in your room the other night, I think your exact words were, 'she was digging me'" Ryan said to Seth. 

Seth shrugged his shoulders and they were both silent for a few minutes in till Seth's eyes lit up"who are you lecturing me dude what about you and Marissa, how come you haven't asked her" Seth finished looking extremely satisfied. Least the heat was off him for a second.

Ryan rolled his eyes"ummm how bout the small factor that she's got a boyfriend u idiot"

"so what, I mean you know Luke's going away don't you, he isn't going to be here for the dance so why don't you tell her u wana go as friends because you don't want her to miss out, then you could use that old Ryan charm I know you got in...ummm...somewhere"  
Ryan hit Seth on the arm as he started laughing, then he continued "and then she falls on her face with desire for you, Luke's out the picture and Ryan my friend you get the girl" Seth dusted off his hands"simple..as...that"

Ryan looked at Seth maybe he was right for once, maybe this was a perfect opportunity to spend a whole night with Marissa, show her the guy he could be for her. He smiled as he thought of dancing with Marissa, holding her in his arms as he kissed her gently. Seth smiled at him"I'm right aren't I?"

Ryan stood up and threw his burger wrapper in the bin"for once you are Seth, but seriously if I ask Marissa, we gotta make a deal that you gotta ask Summer as well"  
Seth started to argue but was stopped by the image of Summer being with him at the dance and holding her close. "Ok you got a deal"

The Following Wednesday…

"What am I supposed to do coup? I mean what is it gonna do to my reputation if I turn up dateless, how can everyone be taken I was only off ill for a couple of days, this cant be happening" Summer complained to Marissa as they strolled down the school corridor. Marissa laughed, typical Summer always worrying too much about what people thought, like a good example would be her complete denial of having a good time with Seth.

Marissa stopped at her locker, and saw the picture of Luke she had on the inside"well you could be like me with a boyfriend out of town, I mean no ones gonna ask me because Luke would kill them if he found out, I cant even go and have a good time" she sighed, she sure didn't see Luke much anymore, if it wasn't football practice, homework or 'hanging with the guys' it was impromptu trips to Miami with his dad.  
Just then Seth walked over to Summer looking extremely nervous and twiddling with his thumbs,

"Ummm...hey Summer, Marissa, how you doing? He smiled at them nervously.

Summer crossed her arms and looked at him"can I help you Cohen"

He shuffled on the spot"welliwaswonderinifwantedtogotothedancewithme"he muttered as quickly as he could. He crossed his fingers behind his back; please please please say yes he prayed silently in his head. And to his shock he heard the words"yes, ok, pick me up at 8"she instructed him, and with that she marched off down the corridor leaving Seth picking his jaw up from the floor. Marissa who was still stood there laughed as Seth looking completely dazed and ecstatic walked off down the corridor.

THE COOPERS DRIVEWAY

Ok this was no big deal, he was just going to walk up there ask her to the dance and hey presto, no problem...well except for the fact she could say no. Ryan kicked another stone as he worked up the guts to ask Marissa to the Dance it was tomorrow night and he still hadn't done it. He had been coming up with excuses all week why he couldn't ask her but it had finally come to his last chance, it was just so hard...I mean why would she want to go with him...she had a boyfriend and...

"Ryan" oh crap she was behind him. He swivelled round on the spot trying to look as cool as he could. She was looking at him, questioningly, dam it she looked so hot.

"Oh...ummm...hey Marissa...I was just passing and I was thinking I would just come and say hi" phew that sounded ok, least she wasn't going to think he was such an idiot now.  
"Well ok but how were you gonna say hi at the bottom of my driveway, shout through the window?" she laughed as she started walking up the drive"come on then, you aren't gonna just stand there are you" and with that she walked towards the door. Ryan followed feeling extremely stupid, she must think he was such a fool, maybe he should just ask her now, because he didn't particularly want to be inside her house when she rejected him. He stopped.

"Actually, ummm...there is something I wanted to ask, you see well you know its the dance tomorrow" god dammit why did she have to look at him with those eyes, it totally put him off"and well I guess because Luke's away your not going and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me...obviously as friends, I just don't want you to miss out on all the fun" he took a deep breath waiting for her answer, god his hands were sweaty.

"You know what, why not" she smiled at him. "I do really wanna go, thanks Ryan". He couldn't believe it she actually said yes, he smiled back at her, "well, that's great, I better go but I'll pick you up at about 7.45 then we'll go pick Summer up" He started to walk down the drive way, he could barely wait for tomorrow he waved at her as he climbed into his car.

She couldn't believe how excited she was, she didn't know what was wrong with her, and surely she should be upset that she wasn't going with Luke? God she was such a mess these days, it was pretty obvious to her now that she was developing feeling for Ryan that were more than just friends but she had to fight them. Dammit why did she say yes to him when he asked her to the dance yesterday, now she would have to spend the whole night resisting that perfect smile and that cheeky grin he always seemed to save just for her.

She found her self knocked out of her thoughts by a loud knock at the door, it must be Ryan she thought, god the butterflies were back. She took a deep breath, grabbed her bag and ran down the stairs; she swung open the door to find Ryan standing there looking incredibly handsome in his suit.

He smiled at her, "you look so beautiful". She looked up in to his eyes "Than……" she was stopped by the intense look in his eyes, he was looking at her as though, as though he …..no it wasn't possible.

"Umm…shall we go?" he asked. She smiled "Yeh sure" this was gonna be a tough night she thought as she climbed into the car.

"I'll just run and get Summer" Seth said to Ryan and Marissa as he pulled into Summers drive way. God he was so nervous, he still couldn't believe she was going with him. Maybe tonight he could show her that he was the guy for her; he knew she mostly put on an act; he just wished he could break it down and find the real Summer.

He reached the front door step, "Well here goes" he said to himself as he rang the bell.

God finally he was here, trust Cohen to be late, it was kinda strange but she felt a bit nervous, which was completely ridiculous considering it was Cohen. She grabbed her bag and started towards the door, he had been quite fun the other day when he wasn't such a geek, he was pretty funny when he wasn't trying too hard. But most the time he just annoyed her, I hope I don't have to spend all night with him she thought as she opened the door.

He was stood there holding a rose, "This is for you, and you look beautiful by the way" he smiled at her. She took the rose and couldn't help but smile and blush, god he was sweet maybe he wasn't such an idiot after all. She felt butterflies in her stomach as she closed the door, what the hell was going on, how could Seth Cohen be giving her butterflies?

The cafeteria had been decorated beyond recognition, wow this was actually quite cool they never really did this sorta thing in Chino. "This is kinda cool" he said to Marissa who was walking beside him.

She smiled at him and laughed"Well that's the thing about Newport Beach, we sure know how to do things" she pointed to a table"shall we sit there" He nodded back at her.

Without thinking she grabbed his hand and led him over to the table, when they got there they both looked down at their hands, both could feel the electricity between them, she dropped his hand, blushing slightly"ummm...sorry I just grabbed your hand without thinking...I...didn't wanna lose you in the crowd" He smiled at her, it looked quite strained"yeh sure that's what I thought, no worry's" he replied just as Summer and Seth walked up arguing.

"God Cohen was it so necessary that we park so far away, there were plenty of spaces nearer"

"They were too small; I wasn't going to scratch the car" She threw her arms up in exasperation,

"My gran could have parked in those spaces you moron" and with that she stormed off in the direction of the punch bowl.

Seth looked at Ryan and Marissa"is she always such a spoilt little princess or has she just got a stick shoved up her asse" Ryan tried to control his laughter, seeing as Marissa was Summers best friend but he couldn't help it and so started laughing, joined by Seth.

Marissa crossed her arms"hey that's my best friend your talking about" she tried to look angry but couldn't help laughing too, it was true that sometimes Summer really did need to relax sometimes instead of getting so worked up. She looked round to see where Summer had gone and finally caught sight of her dancing with some water polo guy. She looked at Seth to check he hadn't seen, one look at Seth's hurt face answered that question.

Seth turned to them"great she's already off with some other guy, can she not even stand me for 5 minutes" he flopped down onto the seat behind him, looking sad and depressed, what a great night this was gonna be he thought.

Later On In The Evening…

"So Ryan, when exactly are we gonna dance, I mean you can't invite me to a dance and then refuse to dance" Marissa tilted her head at Ryan trying to charm him onto the dance floor, it wasn't working.

Ryan grimaced"I just don't think we should wreck the evening by witnessing the torture that is me dancing, trust me it's not pretty". 

She started to give him the puppy dog eyes "pleeeasssseee, just one dance, seriously if you dance the next dance with me then I swear I wont make you dance for the rest of the night, deal". He thought about it, it was quite a good deal; hopefully the next song would be something he could just bounce along to and not look like a complete idiot.

He looked at her, well them eyes definitely clinched it for him"Ok, ONE dance, no more than that and then I'm done!" She laughed in triumph. Just then the song finished and Robbie Williams- Angels came on. Oh crap, he thought exactly what I can't handle, holding her in my arms.  
They both looked at each other, caught up in the others eyes. He stood up and held out his hand, she took it and they walked out onto the dance floor, she wrapped her arms round his neck while he placed his hands on her waist. God this felt right he thought as they swayed to the music, if only she felt the same he thought sadly.

She didn't think she could handle this for much longer, and they had only been dancing for a few seconds. She could feel the warmth of his hands on her waist and his breath on her neck. Why had she made him dance, she couldn't handle her feelings for him when she was this close to him. God this felt so right, if only, she thought sadly.

Summer looked around the dance floor, trying to see which couples were dancing, she caught sight of Ryan and Marissa dancing, god they looked so into each other, she could almost see the heat and tension coming off them. She continued looking round the room and her eyes stopped on a figure slumped in his seat the other side of the room, her heart gave a lurch, Seth looked so sad and vulnerable, she had been pretty horrible to him. He wasn't that bad she just, well she didn't really know why she was so horrible to him, sometimes she thought it was just because he was really weird and sometimes she thought it was because she was scared, scared about feeling things that would make her vulnerable too, she didn't want the real her to be seen it was too, well, scary. Maybe she should go and talk to him; she was supposed to be his date after all. She started across the room towards him.

Well this sucked he thought as he stared down at his feet, some dance this was turning out to be, he had spent all night sat on his own watching Summer dance with every guy except him. I bet she hasn't even thought about me once all night. God I've had enough of this, I'm out of here.  
He stood up, and stopped in his tracks as he realized that Summer was stood in front of him"Let me guess there's no more guys left to dance with and you need me to drive you home, well funnily enough Summer that's not really something I wanna do at the moment" he seethed at her angrily.

She looked at him, he could see apologies in her eyes"I'm sorry Cohen, I know I've treated you unfairly and well you know what your wrong on one thing"

He looked at her sceptically"what would that be" he asked not really caring what the answer was nothing she said could make this evening any better.

She looked up at him again, her eyes looked different somehow, more honest some how"well I haven't danced with every guy in the room, there's still one left" she held out her hand"will you dance with me?"

He looked at her dazed and in shock, had she just said what he thought she said? He looked at her outstretched hand and held his own out letting himself be led out on to the dance floor. She turned around to face him and he felt his whole body shudder as she looked at him with those huge brown eyes, god she was beautiful he thought. She grabbed his hands and placed them on her waist, then she wrapped her own arms around his neck and they started to sway. Surely she could feel how special this felt? He thought as they continued to sway.

What was happening to her she could feel her self melting in his arms, why did she feel like this, the butterflies in her stomach were out of control, it felt so right but it was so incredibly wrong, this was Seth Cohen. She pulled her head back slightly to look at him; his huge brown eyes were looking straight back at her, his lips were moving towards her, she felt her self move towards him, she felt as though she was being pulled towards him and she couldn't control it. They lips nearly met and then she pulled back, and took a step back from him, what was she doing this was so wrong, she couldn't understand what was going on, this couldn't happen, she needed to get out of here, she looked up at the hurt in his eyes and ran out the cafeteria.

Marissa pulled her head back slightly to look at Ryan, she didn't know what she was feeling, it was too crazy, she looked at his eyes, and they were so caring.

Then she saw a different pair of eyes, angry and coming towards them fast"Luke" she pulled away from Ryan who turned around just as Luke smacked him in the face"STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM MY GIRLFRIEND CHINO" he shouted in Ryan's face before grabbing Marissa's hand and storming out the hall. Ryan looked up from the floor, he could see Marissa looking back as she was dragged out the door, he could see the confusion in her eyes. He slumped back on the floor and groaned as he felt his face.

The Next Morning…

"Well could that night have sucked anymore" Seth moaned as he threw his piece of toast back on the table. Ryan nodded in agreement as he caught sight of his bruise in the mirror.  
What a night that had turned out to be, Seth actually seemed to be making progress then Summer ran out on him and Marissa, well, he'd felt like for that one night she was his girlfriend, it had felt so right and...then it had all gone crashing down. He didn't even wanna think about what school was gonna be like today.

Seth stood up from his seat at the breakfast counter and grabbed his bag"You coming or what? Hey you never know maybe no one saw him send you flying across the floor" Ryan gave him a, that's not funny look, as they walked out the door.

"See its not that bad, we haven't even seen Marissa and Luke today" Seth said to Ryan as they walked down the hall. Just then Marissa and Luke emerged from a classroom, hand in hand, Ryan's heart gave a lurch, they were still together, a part of him had hoped they would break up and then at least his bruised face would be worth it. It seemed like last night hadn't meant anything to her, he saw her glance towards him then look away quickly. He started to feel angry, Great she couldn't even look at him, well if that's the way its gonna be then I'm not gonna waste anymore time on her, maybe its just best if I move on. Obviously she doesn't feel the same about me; I must have been kidding myself he thought as he walked past her, ignoring her, deciding that he didn't want the hassle anymore.

Seth had just walked out of Biology when he saw her; she was stood at her locker completely oblivious to him staring at her. Maybe he should just get it over and done with and find out how she felt. He walked towards her trying to work out what he would say but when she turned around and he saw her beautiful face all words pooped out his head.

She looked at him flustered at first and then seemed to regain her cool. "What do you want Cohen" She slammed her locker shut and stood waiting for his reply.

"Umm...well I think we should talk about last night, I mean you just ran out and we were kinda having a moment, so I just wanted to see what you think" he just about managed to get his words out.

She looked back at him, he could see amusement on her face"we were having a moment, yeh sure whatever you say Cohen, god your more deluded than I thought you were, why would we have a moment, I don't even like you so stop kidding yourself" with that she turned around and walked off down the corridor.

Seth sighed sadly and started walking down the corridor, he wished Summer would realize that it wasn't Seth who was kidding himself...it was her.


	3. Face it

CHAPTER 3

"Chip, what sort of a name is that" Seth asked Ryan as they headed towards the crab shack, Seth on skateboard, Ryan on bike.

Ryan rolled his eyes"are you still going on about that guy, I mean come on Seth, so she's with that guy now, get over it"

Seth sighed"it would be easy to see her with him if I was still a faceless nobody to her but I swear she wanted to kiss me, she practically did" He flipped his board and stopped as they came to the entrance to the crab shack.

"Maybe Summer was drugged when she apparently nearly kissed you" Ryan joked and then he frowned"you umm didn't drug her though did you"

Seth threw his arms up in exasperation"of course I didn't well maybe it might have crossed my mind" they both laughed and walked in side to find a seat. A table had just been cleared in the back corner so they took it.

"But seriously man I know she likes me, she loves the old Seth charms, she's just using this Chip guy to forget about me" he leaned back, spread his arms across the back of the booth and tried to look cocky"sooner or later she's gonna be begging for another chance with the Sethmiester, I just gotta sit back and wait for her to realise"

Ryan frowned at Seth"Seth if you really want her then maybe you just gotta chase her a bit longer instead of leaving it because by the sounds of it you've actually made some progress and now your just gonna wait...oh and never refer to yourself as the Sethmiester again, its seriously painful" Seth tried to look hurt as Ryan ordered two crabs from the waitress.

"So Sum what's up with you and Chip, I mean I'm sure you used to describe him as a brain dead moron, how come you're with him"  
Marissa and Summer were walking along the boardwalk heading towards the Crab shack for lunch. Chip and Luke were further in front messing around. Summer shrugged her shoulders.

"Well maybe I was wrong about him...his actually very ummm intellectual and romantic once you get to know him" Just then they heard a shout and watched as Chip, who had been attempting to jump on top of a wall tripped and fell over the other side. Marissa tried to stifle her laughter.

"Umm...sure real intellectual" she stopped laughing and turned to Summer"Look Sum I know you keep saying you don't wanna talk about it but are you sure that maybe this whole thing with Chip is actually to do with your feelings for Se..."

"No" she cut in"I've told you already I don't like Seth and the sooner he and you realise that, the sooner maybe you can both get over the fact that I don't have feelings for him" with that she stomped over to Chip grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the crabshack.

Marissa sighed, it was so frustrating Summer obviously liked Seth she was just being stubborn and it seemed like she wasn't going to change her mind any time soon. Then there was her and Ryan, he just ignored her now, she knew she had hurt him but she couldn't change any think, it was too complicated...it just wouldn't work... "Hey babe, you coming in" she was knocked out of her thoughts by Luke, she realised she had been stood in the middle of the boardwalk, she blushed slightly and walked over to Luke who took her hand as they strolled into the crabshack.

God she wished that Chip would just shut up, he was really bugging her, he thought he was so funny, pretending to trip over every step and blowing bubbles in your drink was really funny if you were in the fourth grade. She was sat at a table with Marissa, Luke and Chip inside the crabshack and she was having the worst time. She hadn't really had a good time since that night at the dance, ever since she nearly kissed Seth. She shook her head to try and get rid of the thoughts, she was so confused about, well ...everything. She had figured that the best way to get her mind off all those strange feelings was to go out with Chip, which was turning out to be torturous. She started to look around the crabshack as Chip whittled on about something or other. She looked over at the counter, where a guy was stood with his back to her. God he looks familiar, she thought I wonder where I know him from. Just then the guy turned round and she felt that all too familiar feeling she got whenever she saw Seth, the butterflies were back. Seth happened to look up and their eyes met across the room, he smiled at her and she couldn't help it but smile back, she felt her self being pulled towards him, she practically had to grab the sides of her seat to stop herself going over. She looked up again and saw he was walking away, she watched him and realised that him and Ryan were sat over in the other corner of the crab shack. Great she thought, how am I supposed to even pretend to concentrate on what Chip's saying if I know Seth's over there. She slumped into her seat again and tried to stop thinking about her confusing feelings for Seth and tried to listen to Chip.

Seth hurried back over to Ryan and threw himself in the chair, Ryan looked at Seth's flushed face"You alright man, was it a long walk to the counter or did you get lost".

Seth looked at him, he seemed quite agitated to Ryan, he pointed towards the far corner, Ryan looked and saw Summer"well that would explain it" he laughed at Seth, he looked back over and his face fell as he caught a glimpse of Luke and Marissa, great just what he needed.

"What should I do, should I go over and talk to her, force her to be honest or what" Seth was looking at Ryan expectedly, great he had to give advice while trying to deal with seeing Luke and Marissa, he suddenly didn't feel so hungry.

"You know what Seth, go for it, its obvious she likes you, maybe you just gotta force her to admit it" Seth looked at him then made Ryan jump as he jumped up from the table.

"Ryan my friend your right I'm gonna march over there and tell her that I'm not gonna let her deny it anymore" and with that he starting striding over to where Summer was sat.

Ryan sat watching shocked that Seth was actually doing it. But he started to laugh as he watched Seth veer off at the last minute and walk into the toilets. He threw his napkin down, god their love lives were messed up he thought as he slumped down in his seat.

"So girls, we're sorry but me and Chip have gotta run, we gotta meet the guys in bout ten minutes, you gonna be ok"he turned to Marissa and kissed her on the cheek.

She smiled and nodded"yea we'll be fine, you go me and Summer can finish eating on our own" The guys got up and strolled out the door. Marissa turned to Summer.

"I'm guessing by your sudden change in mood earlier that you noticed Seth and Ryan are here" Summer looked at her, and smiled; she turned and snuck a peek at Ryan and Seth's table then turned back quickly. She looked at Marissa and smiled sadly at her.

"I guess its pretty obvious I like him, but I've been so confused about it all, I guess I've been trying to push my feelings away by dating Chip and ignoring Seth, his never gonna like me after this, I've been so mean, I've missed my chance" she sighed sadly. Marissa laughed.

"You know what Sum I wouldn't be so sure bout that" she got up and started walking away"back in a min", she called over her shoulder.

Summer shouted after her "Hey coop where you going" Marissa just kept walking away. "Great I start spilling my heart out and she can't even be bothered to listen" she mumbled to herself.

"Well I'll listen if you want" a voice behind her said. She swivelled round and found Seth stood behind her.

"Do you mind if I sit down, actually you know what, I'm gonna sit down anyway and I want you to just listen to me for a second, ok" he sat down across from her.  
She looked at him trying to control her heart beat. He looked really nervous she just wanted to grab his hand but thought better of it and sat on her hands instead.

"Ok then , look Summer we haven't talked about the dance yet and you know lets face it that's not my fault, I've tried to talk to you but your so stubborn I mean god its soo ano..."he stopped talking" anyway, going off subject there what I'm trying to say is, well I like you Summer, a lot and I think you feel the same but your scared, your scared of actually being in a relationship with someone who cares about you" she started to say something but he cut her off"no wait let me finish, I've watched you with all these guys over the years and its obvious they weren't with you for you, they were with you because your gorgeous and they wanted to get laid, well you know what Summer, I like you for you and I think that's what you want whether you know it or not"

He finished slightly out of breath and looked down at the table, she was so gonna turn him down, why had he bothered, she was probably trying not to laugh at him right now. He looked up at her, she was just looking at him not saying anything, he had probably scared the poor girl into a state of shock, well he wasn't gonna stick around for the rejection.

He stood up"look its ok, I get it, you really don't like me...its fine...I wont bother you again" He started to walk away but she stood up and grabbed his hand.

"Wait Cohen...I..." He looked down at their hands, he loved the feel of her hand holding his, he looked back up and realised she was coming towards him, and before he realised it she was kissing him, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, this must be a dream he thought as they continued to kiss passionately.

She broke away and pulled her head back slightly"hey Cohen, what I meant to say was I really like you too" he pushed some of her hair off her face and laughed"really? I felt sure this was your way of saying you hated me"

Marissa was stood near the counter waiting till Seth and Summer had stopped talking, she looked back over, whoa they were kissing, looked like she was gonna be over here by herself for a while. She looked round to where she knew Ryan was sitting and decided it was about time they talked. She walked over and sat down before he could say no, she was gonna sort this out once and for all.


	4. secrets

CHAPTER 4

"Marissa?...ummmmm...what are you doing?" Ryan asked slightly shocked at Marissa's sudden appearance, she hadn't even given him a chance to make an excuse to leave; she had come at him so fast.  
Marissa dragged her chair in and looked at Ryan, he tried not to look at her, it was too hard not to get sucked into those eyes, what did she want anyway, she had Luke. 

"Ryan...ummm...I came to talk to you, to...umm... clear the air, we haven't really spoken properly in a while and it seems like when we're around each other it's really tense"  
Ryan looked down at the table, she was moving the place mats around on the table with her hands unconsciously, she seemed really nervous, if he hadn't been so mad at her he would have found it cute. He cleared his throat.

"Look Marissa, if you wanna play dumb and act like nothing happened between us then fine but I'm not gonna sit here and pretend that I don't have feelings for you and that...well...you don't have feelings for me, if Luke hadn't turned up we would have kissed, I know that and you know that so at least stop denying it"  
He finished speaking, a bit shocked at what he had said, he hadn't meant to be so honest, but once he started it just tumbled out. He looked at Marissa, she looked shocked as well. She was starting to stand up.

"Ummm...you know what I gotta go, I just remembered I gotta meet ummm my mum" she grabbed her purse and started to back away, "you know how much I love spending time with my mum" she frowned realising that Ryan knew differently.  
"ummm...anyway, see ya" with that she span around and rushed out the Crab Shack before Ryan could get another word in.  
Ryan leant back on his chair and sighed, he'd seen that look in her eyes, she didn't know he had seen it but he had, after he'd said that he liked her he had seen the look that confirmed what he already knew, she liked him too, but she was too scared to admit it. Maybe he would have to force her to admit it he thought as he got up from the table to leave.

Later that evening...

Seth and Summer were cuddled up on Seth's bed watching a movie. She was sat in between his legs with his arms wrapped around her and his head resting on her shoulder. She sighed contently. She felt so happy; this was exactly what she wanted. He kissed her neck and she sighed again. She turned around and they started to kiss, they were just getting into it when they heard footsteps coming towards Seth's room.

"SETH" Shouted Kirsten. They pulled apart as Kirsten walked into the room. She stopped abruptly, surprised to see Summer there.

"Oh hi Summer, I ummm didn't realise you were here" she half smiled at Seth and then regained her composure. A second person walked into the room, a young girl, who looked their age; she was tall with long blonde hair and a perfect figure. Summer and Seth both looked between Kirsten and this girl, confused as to who she was. Kirsten pointed towards the girl.

"I just came up to introduce you to our guest, this is Jenny and she's going to be staying with us, Sandy knows her father and they just had a fire at their house so she's going to stay with us for awhile" The girl looked up at Seth and Summer and smiled. Seth half waved back at her and Summer smiled whilst trying to hold back a scowl. She was not happy; having a stunning blonde staying in Seth's house was not a good thing. Summer grabbed Seth's hand as Jenny and Kirsten walked out the room.

Couple days later at school...

Marissa was sat at lunch with Luke and the water polo team. This is so boring she thought as everyone erupted into laughter again at some lame ass joke. She didn't mind when it was her and Luke but when he was with his friends he was such a different guy, she thought about Ryan and how he was always the same person, always made her feel special that was before they nearly kis...she shook her head trying to shake out the thoughts. She had decided she was going to concentrate on her and Luke and that's exactly what she was going to do. She turned to Luke and he flashed her a huge smile that made her forget about Ryan for the time being. She leant into him and he put his arm around her. See, she thought this is all that I need, Luke's all she needed...

Ryan was walking down the hallway trying not to laugh as Seth and Summer had yet another argument about Jenny staying at the Cohen's.

"You were totally eyeing her up Cohen I know you were, assface" she punched him on the arm. He flinched and rubbed his arm.

"Ouch, Summer, calm down I was not, she's a nice girl but I wouldn't even look at another girl like that Sum" He moved in closer trying to butter her up.

"You're all I need" She looked at him and he could see her face softening slightly. She grabbed his hand and started to pull him down the hall.

"Well I better be, because she was totally checking you out, all that 'I'm poor girl whose house just burnt down', well you know what find a motel that's all I say, oh and another thing..."  
Seth rolled his eyes as Summer started off again on one of her rants.

Ryan had left Summer and Seth having the same argument and was heading through the parking lot when he heard raised voices from behind the cars; he stopped dead when he recognised one of the voices. Who was Luke shouting at? He tried to listen to what he was saying.

"Look, I don't care if you couldn't contact me, I've told you before, you don't come to my school, you don't come to my house, you know what you basically don't have anything to do with me unless I contact you ok?" Luke shouted.  
Ryan inched around the car to try and get a better view of who he was shouting at. He inched further and saw a girl about their age with short brown hair, he didn't think she went to Harbour but she looked really angry.

"Don't you speak to me like that you jackass, we had a deal and your gonna stick to it, otherwise I will start coming to your house and your school and you know what maybe I'll start talking to your friends, see if they have any questions they wanna ask me" She leaned in closer to Luke, Ryan leaned in closer too to try and hear what she was saying, he just caught the end of it.

"...if everyone finds out then it's gonna be you that loses everything, not me" and with that she turned away and jumped into her parked car, speeding off.  
Ryan looked at Luke's face, it had turned ghostly white and he looked panic stricken. What the hell was going on he thought, what was Luke involved in. He watched as Luke stormed off across the car park. Ryan walked to his car and sat down, what was he supposed to do now? tell Marissa something was going on? ask Luke? keep it to himself? He punched the steering wheel in frustration, why was everything always so complicated in his life!


	5. Trust

Chapter 5

"His a gay felon on the run from the cops, or his a secret gay drug Baron, ummm...no wait, his just secretly gay, now that would fit, but even better he used to date a Swedish Porn star, no...no wait I can do better than that, ummmmm...he was a Swedish gay porn star" Seth threw his arms up in success. Ryan just rolled his eyes at him.

"Gee Seth, I really wish I had thought of that, you've really hit the nail on the head with that one" Ryan said sarcastically. Seth had just spent half an hour coming up with these ideas; all of them funnily enough seemed to revolve around Luke being secretly gay.

"You may roll your eyes at me buddy, but I swear in between beating the crap out of me, I could have sworn Luke was giving me the 'come and get me' eyes, he wanted me Ryan".

"Ok now, Seth your going too far that's just, well that's just disturbing" He shook his head trying to get the unwanted images of Luke coming on to Seth out of his head. Seth who seemed to be having the same problem frowned.

"Yeh that kinda was too far, anyway, seriously what do you think his big secret is and what you gonna do bout it?" 

Ryan and Seth were inside the poolhouse.Ryan got up and started pacing around.

"Well, I don't know, I mean at the end of the day its none of my business, but if Luke's involved in something dodgy, I think Marissa's got a right to know, what do you think?" Ryan stopped pacing and looked at Seth waiting for some advice.

"Ryan my friend if you don't mind me saying, I think you have enough trouble in your life, why complicate things even more by getting between the golden couple, she'll only turn it on you, and anyway after the way she treated you, I don't think you should even care" Ryan started pacing again thinking.

Maybe Seth was right, maybe he should just forget he heard anything, the sensible thing would be to stay away, it was only gonna end in trouble. He made his decision. Ryan turned to Seth.

"You know what's always been my problem Seth, no matter what happens, it always ends in trouble, mays well embrace it" and with that he walked out the pool house, on his way to see Marissa leaving Seth looking confused.

"We really haven't had any girly time for a while have we?" Summer and Marissa where sitting on Marissa's bed painting their toe nails.

"nope, which is why we must have more, and anyway" Marissa turned to Summer," I need to catch up on the gossip with you and Seth, how's things going? Summer shrugged her shoulders.

"I duno, great I guess, he's everything a girl could want, attentive, sweet..."

"Worships the ground you walk on" Marissa finished for her. They both laughed but Summer had a frown on her face as she sat thinking. Marissa nudged her slightly.

"So what's up then? you seem kinda down, are you sure everything's ok with Seth?" She watched as Summer jumped off the bed and walked over to the dresser, she turned back around and sighed.

"I guess its just that Jenny girl, she just gets to me, I know nothings going on but her and Cohen get on so well, I mean when the three of us are hanging out I feel so...so...thick! they have so much in common and me and Cohen don't, and I swear she's into him, it just gets to me" She sighed again. Marissa pulled her onto the bed and hugged her.

"Look Sum, say she does like him, so what, you know how much Seth likes you, he would never do any think to hurt you, so even if she did come onto him I bet he would just tell her where to go" Summer frowned again.

"You know Coop, the thought of her coming onto Cohen doesn't really make me feel better, considering she's like frickin Miss Universe or sumfink" Marissa pulled her into a tighter hug.

"Just stop worrying ok Sum" Marissa said as Summer starting staring into space again.

"I wish I could" she muttered to herself. She continued with her nail varnish, unable to shake the uneasy feeling in the pitt of her stomach.

Later that day...

Seth and Summer were in the pool house making out. Seth was lying on top of her and they were kissing passionatly.Summer pulled away for a second.

"Cohen, does it bother you that we have like nothing in common, I mean you and Jenny have everything in common and I mean... I duno, I guess I think that some day you'll get bored of me and wont like me as much anymore" She looked in Seth's eyes, looking for some reassurance. He leant down and captured her in a deep and passionate kiss that took her breath away, then he pulled away and smiled.

"Summer, that is how much I like you and I don't care if we don't have much in common, you know, it keeps it interesting, and about Jenny, I know you've been worried about her but seriously I see her as more the sister I never had, nothing more, we have a brotherly sisterly relationship, I swear" She smiled up at him, feeling reassured.

"Ok then, I believe you I won't bring it up again, I trust you" they both smiled and she leaned in as they started kissing again. 

Ryan knocked on the door hoping he would finally find Marissa; he had been chasing her all day, always seeming to miss her. To his luck Marissa opened the door. She looked surprised to see him.

"Ryan? ummm...what are you doing here?" Ryan stood rocking on the spot not sure whether this was the right thing to do. Oh well, he thought, only one way to find out. He looked up at Marissa who was still waiting for him to speak.

"Well ummm I really need to speak to you about something important, is there any chance we could go inside to talk about it?" Marissa looked behind her then stepped out the doorway and closed the door behind her.

"It's probably best if we talk out here, you know, with...ummm...my mum being at home". She sat down on the step and gestured Ryan to do the same.

"So what's up?" she turned to Ryan.

"well, look there's no easy way to say this but I ummm...well I'm just gonna say it anyway, I think Luke's involved in something really bad and I'm worried about you because from what I heard its serious what ever it is and I don't want you to get hurt" he said it as fast as he could to just get it out and then looked at her, trying to gauge her reaction. She looked confused.

"What do you mean something really bad, what are you going on about Ryan?" She frowned at him.

"Look I over heard him talking to this girl and she was like threatening him about something, but it sounded really bad and..."

"What the hell is your problem Ryan" he looked at her surprised, she just looked angry,  
" where do you get off, making up lies about Luke just because you hate him, for god sake Ryan , I cant believe you"

He started to get angry himself, he couldn't believe it, she thought he was making it up, well screw her.

"You know what Marissa that's fine, you know the only reason I was telling you was because I didn't want you to get hurt because I care about you, and I thought you cared about me enough to know I wouldn't make this up" He stood up ready to leave, Marissa stood up too and grabbed his arm.

"Ryan wait, I ..." they both looked down at her hand on his arm; he turned around to face her. He looked in her eyes and saw they weren't angry anymore, but much gentler. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the front door opening.

"Hey Marissa, what ya doing babe? Oh..., Chino, I didn't know you were here" he stopped in his tracks and looked at them both. Marissa took her hand off Ryan's arm and went and stood next to Luke. She kissed him quickly.

"Don't worry, Ryan was just leaving, he needed to know what the homework was for French, isn't that right Ryan" She looked at him, literally threatening him with her eyes to go along with it. He couldn't be bothered to say any different anyway.

"Yeh, that's right I just love the French, thanks for the help Marissa, oh and I'm no good at French so I wouldn't ever ask me for help, ok?" He hoped she got the hidden meaning in that as he walked off, he was done with Marissa Cooper, from now on, she was on her own.

Seth was sat in the pool house reading comics when Jenny walked in.

"Hey Seth how's it going?" she plonked herself down on the bed next to him and grabbed his comic. "What cha reading?" she laughed as he tried to grab it back.

"Well I was trying to read Superman but some really annoying girl named Jenny just grabbed it off me" he joked as he dived to try and grab it, she moved out the way and he ended up in a heap on the floor. She was in hysterics as he tried to get up.

"You are so going to pay for that" he said as he dived at her, this time landing on top of her and tickling her. She squealed with laughter, but managed to pull him round so that she was on top. Before he knew what she was doing, she had grabbed his face and started to kiss him, he tried to wriggle out of her grasp but she was too strong and just kept kissing him. He couldn't push her off. He heard the pool house door opened and tried to push her off again.

"Hey Cohen I left my purse here earl..."Summer stopped in shock at the sight of them, Jenny finally pulled away and Seth looked at Summer in shock. Tears had sprung to her eyes. Her voice shook as she spoke.

"Cohen...what the hell are you doing?" Seth pushed Jenny off and jumped off the bed. He could see the hurt in Summer's eyes.

"Look Summer I know what this looks like, but I swear she just started kissing me and I couldn't get her off, I was trying and then you walked in, you believe me don't you?" He tried to take her hand but she pulled it away. Tears were flowing from her eyes. She stepped back and Seth's heart ached as he heard the hurt in her voice.

"Do you know what I believe Seth, I believe your a lying, cheating, scumbag, god Seth...I trusted you and this is the way you repay me, we're over Seth" her voice shook as she spoke " you've lied and you've cheated, some sister she is to you" She turned around and ran out the pool house.

Seth stood shocked, "Summer" he shouted after her he started to run after her but by the time he got out side she was tearing away in her car. He sat down in the middle of the driveway and put hi head in his hands, what if he had lost Summer forever, he couldn't stand the pain. He looked up and a tear dropped out his eye.


	6. Help

Chapter 6

"She won't talk to me Ryan" Seth said to Ryan as they walked into English. They took their seats near the back of the class and carried on talking.

"What, like not at all? Haven't you explained it was all a mistake?" Ryan questioned Seth. Seth gave him a look.

"Well, duh, course I tried to explain that to her but she already had issues with Jenny staying, she was all jealous as it was so she won't listen, she's convinced I was cheating on her, what am I gonna do man?" He put his head in his hands, for about the 100th time since Summer had seen Jenny kissing him two weeks ago. Ryan sighed.

"I duno, she's a stubborn girl, you just gotta find a way to make her listen, maybe you should give her some space" He patted Seth on the back in support then got his books out. Seth shook his head.

"No, the longer she doesn't speak to me the further we're gonna be apart, I need to find some way to prove to her it wasn't my fault, I cant lose her Ryan, I've wanted her for so long, I'm not gonna let her do this" Ryan nodded, then nudged Seth as he saw Summer walk in, she walked to a few desks in front of Seth and sat down. Ryan looked at Seth who was just staring sadly at Summer. Just then Mrs Dalston walked into the classroom and everyone went quiet. She walked to the front and cleared her throat.

"Right then class, I have some very special news for you all, the English department has decided to arrange a trip to London..." an excited murmur went up around the classroom, " quiet...as I was saying we're gong on a trip to London as there is a huge 5 day English workshop with hundreds of schools taking part from all around the globe, with some very exciting writers attending, now I haven't got all the details at the moment but I can assure you this trip will be extremely worthwhile, plus we are going for 10 days so you'll have 5 days of your own to sightsee, and pretty much do whatever you want" She held up her hand again as the whole class erupted into excited chatter. Realising she had lost their attention for now she sat down at her desk to wait for quiet.

"Oh my god, can you believe we're going to London? I've always wanted to go there, think of the shopping we could do!" Marissa was literally skipping down the hall, with Summer by her side, who looked slightly less enthusiastic.

"Great, can't wait, just what I need a trip to London, miracle cure for cheating, lying little bitches named Cohen" Marissa stopped and looked at Summer who had her fists clenched. She unclenched Summers fists and put her arm round her shoulder.

"So I take it, you haven't sorted things out with Seth?" Marissa asked. She jumped back as summer twisted around outraged.

"Of course I haven't sorted things out with him, why would I, he cheated on me, why does everyone keep assuming I'll forgive him, everyone is always sticking up for that scumbag" she shouted, before storming off down the hall. 

"But I wasn't defending him… Summer!" her words fell on deaf ears as Summer was already halfway down the corridor. Marissa sighed and turned around to go to her class but she stopped mid step as she caught sight of Luke walking out of the school exit, well more like storming out the school exist. She waved but he didn't see her, however she caught sight of his face which was distorted with anger. 

"Summer, wait up, come on just listen to me" Seth was chasing Summer threw the car park, barely keeping up with her pace. She swung around unexpectedly, making him literally skid to a stop. Her face was livid.

"Why should I wait for you Cohen, I've had enough people betray me in my life and I'm not gonna let you be one of them, so quit bugging me and let it go, I'm over you ok, so leave me alone" With that she stormed off.

Seth didn't try to follow her; he was too paralysed by her words. He knew they weren't true; it just hurt him to hear them. He was gonna have to figure out a way to get Summer back and get her to believe him, he knew she had been lied to by her mum in the past and it had totally wreaked her trust in people, he was just gonna have to find a way to change that. He started to walk back towards school, deep in thought.

"God dammit, why wont you start, you piece of crap" Marissa put her head on the steering wheel as she felt tears coming to her eyes. She was in the car park in her car trying to follow Luke to see what the hell he was up to, she had bumped into one of his friends when she followed him who said Luke had got a phone call in the locker room then just stormed out... She hated to admit it but ever since Ryan had told her his suspicions, some things had really started to eat away at her, strange messages, unexplained absences, mood swings, just stupid things that she hadn't really thought much of were eating away at her. Plus now when she decided to take Ryan advice and find out, her car wouldn't start!

She wiped frustrated tears from her eyes as she tried one last time; she heard the engine groan then die, smacked the steering wheel and started to cry. She jumped as she heard a knock on the window, she swivelled round and found Ryan standing there looking concerned. Ryan opened the door and knelt down so he was at her height; she tried not to look into his gentle, warm eyes.

"Hey, whats wrong, I was walking past and noticed your engine was making some strange noises then I see you crying, it can't be that bad can it? I mean you can get it fixed, right?" she forced herself to look at him, before she knew what she was doing she threw herself into his arms and let him comfort her, he rubbed her back soothingly, making her feel better. She wrapped her arms round his neck and tried to calm herself down; when she felt better she pulled away and smiled at him.

"Thanks...I just got worked up because I.." she paused trying to decide whether or not to tell Ryan she was starting to believe that Something was going on with Luke, she decided to risk it.

"Well I was trying to follow Luke" she watched as he frowned slightly, "I think you might be right, about Luke I mean, I think he might be doing something but I don't know what and I was going to follow him, to try and see what it was" She watched his face closely, trying to see whether he was angry that she hadn't believed him at first. He looked at her and she could see in his eyes that he had forgiven her for that, she couldn't help but marvel at how kind his eyes were.

"So you want a ride?" he half grinned at her and gestured at her car, "cuz by the sounds of this car, you aren't gonna be going anywhere". She laughed and he helped her out the car leading her to his own. They both jumped in and Ryan started driving towards Marissa's house. They were driving across a crossroads when Ryan had to slam on his breaks as a car sped across nearly crashing into them.

"Ryan that was Luke, can we follow him please, I need to know, I don't mean to get you involved but I need to know what he's doing, will you help me?" She looked at him with pleading eyes, she knew it wasn't fair to ask him to get involved like this, but she needed to know. He took a second to decide and swung the car on to the road Luke had gone down.

"I've got a bad feeling about this! Ryan said, more to himself than anyone as he sped after Luke, with a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

So that's the chapter, sorry it's short and sorry it's not great, I've had to rush it abet as its bin a hard chapter to write and I've bin trying to get it out. Reviews, comments, etc welcome. Luv jen


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